The Beginning of the End
by Chocovian
Summary: Set in the future. A crossover where Percy and Annabeth's great-great grandchildren meet Peeta and Katniss' children. Full summary inside, and my first story. Now COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

**Full Summary:** Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have been through challenge after challenge-the two Hunger Games and then the rebellion against the Capitol. But now, they face another challenge, raising their two children without them knowing what their parents have been through as long as possible.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have beat all odds and are still alive, something that usually doesn't happen with demigods, especially powerful ones like themselves. They settled down after they defeated Kronos and Gaea from destroying civilization. They had kids, still went to camp for the summers, and eventually just died. Their parents did look down on their descendants but the two did leave something for the future generations to come.

Now, in the future, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase's great-great grandchildren discover their legacy while Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's children also discover their own parents' past. When they meet up, something unexpected might happen. Will they kill each other or will something even more dangerous happen?

**Prologue**

The woods were dark and quiet, just how the hunter liked it. There was no one to disturb her now. She always knew that she could do her work best if there was no one else, even though she did miss the company of her best friend.

_But it doesn't matter anymore,_ she thought bitterly, _those memories are too hard to think of._

Closing her eyes, she thought back to the day when she saw the flames erupt, eating up her sister, her sweet, innocent little sister. She hadn't been able to see much of the world, _but then again, there wasn't much to see._ Katniss Everdeen chuckled at her own little joke, but then thinking of her sister's short life, she wiped it immediately. She thought of the last time that she saw the little girl. Prim had just turned around to see her sister calling her, but then, the last parachutes went off- the ones that killed the other children in the rebellion.

She opened her eyes again, just in time to see the beautiful sunrise. _I wish Peeta was here to see this_, she thought wistfully. Then, she retracted that thought. _No, he probably wouldn't have been able to get up this early. And I need some time to myself. _She continued on to the fence, in her regular hunter jacket and black boots, her hair tied into its signature braid behind her back.

Even though President Snow wasn't in charge in more, some customs were too hard to break habit of. She crawled underneath the hole in the fence, then turned around to see District 12 one last time before she went off for her daily hunt.

She went to the usual hollow log to retrieve her bow and sheath of arrows and went to go find some animals that would be nice for Sae's food for that night. She smiled when she thought of how that night's dinner would go. As usual, she would probably just stay quiet while Peeta told her about the rebuilding plans of 12 and the rest of Panem. Thinking about 12's rebuilding, she decided to write a letter to her mother or call her to see how everything was going in 4.

The rest of her day went by fairly quickly. Before she knew it, she was walking back to the log to return the bow and arrow. It had been an eventful morning; more animals had been out today than any other for the past few months. She had also gotten enough fresh herbs and flowers for home, too. She continued to walk to the fence and just like always, it wasn't charged. _Figures. They still won't waste anything on us, not until they finish rebuilding all of Panem._

Walking past the rubbles of some leftover buildings, she couldn't believe the other part of town with all of construction machines was all in the same place. _Maybe the people of Panem _can_ changes their ways_, she thought on her way to give the meat of to Sae. She made a mental note to herself to ask her mom to get a gift for her. After all, she had done so much for Katniss and Peeta after the rebellion.

When she knocked at Sae's door and gave her the meat, she gave her a nod and said "I'm sure I can make a good soup out of this." Then made a bit of small talk to make sure that Katniss was following the schedule the Capitol doctors had given her. Sae said that she would stop by a little later with the soup and then turned around back inside her home.

Katniss stayed where she was instead of moving, wondering how she'd tell Peeta the news, but figured it would have to come up eventually, so she turned around and started her little journey to the bakery where her husband usually spent his time.

_As usual_, she thought when she heard the little chime of the bakery door as it opened and closed with a small thud. _He's nowhere to be found. _She had to resist the urge to call out his name and decided to just sit down in own of the nearby chairs to smell the familiar fragrances. She rubbed her stomach- a little habit she's picked up on over the past few days while hoping she would be able to break the news to Peeta. She closed her eyes to think about what life would have been like if none of the horrible stuff had happened, if no one had died, would she still have been where she was today? She smiled to herself thinking that Peeta would find his way to her anyway.

Then, she opened her eyes suddenly. _Maybe this isn't such a good idea. It won't be very long before he comes out to check if there's anyone waiting. I'll just wait until later._

And just like every day for the past 4 days, Katniss walked out again of the bakery silently, not ready to share the news, again. Half way on her way to the Victor's Village, she decided that she had to tell him, by the end of the day at the latest.

And that was how the next hour of Katniss's day was spent- walking back and forth between the bakery and the Victor's Village, not sure on what she should do. Finally, when she could take it no longer and was finally fed up with herself, she stormed into the bakery, ready to get it over with. And quite frankly, she didn't even care what he said. She just needed it off of her mind!

When Peeta heard the door open, Katniss saw him walking out and talking his regular spot next to the counter, wiping his hands off on his apron and looked up, appearing tired. He saw Katniss walking toward him and smiled his huge grin. So big that Katniss almost mistook him for the kid that she first saw on her first day of school. Then, seeing Katniss's face, he instantly knew something was wrong with her.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" He used the same concerned voice of his when she looked like that. She decided to get right to the point to say, "Peeta, there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

The young demigod was busy reminiscing about his adventures as a child when he first discovered the truth about his family. When he first found out that his father was actually a Greek God and that they were very much alive in the modern world. Although that may not have been the best day of his life or any of the days that led up to that day, there was one very interesting part of all of the quests he'd been on- or make that an interesting _person_.

Annabeth. That name had meant everything to him, no matter how tough the times had been. The name had kept him from going mad and he figured that it would always keep him normal- no matter who decided to destroy the world. And boy did that happen a lot.

At least, for now, there were no threats looming over the demigods of the world. He had already lost so many people that he knew personally, and he wasn't going to let anyone else die- not as long as he could stop them somehow.

He opened his eyes and, judging from the sun's position, he assumed it was somewhat midday.

Percy Jackson stood up from beneath the tree he was relaxing under in the middle of Central Park. He decided that he should start to get back home before his parents started to wonder where he was. Of course, tonight was very important to him. He needed to prepare.

On the short walk back to the apartment where he lived, he thought of the different ways to ask her. He told his parents and they were very proud of him, except his dad. His dad was… different. Sure, he was happy, but he still didn't think he should ask now. Instead, in a few years when he was older.

He thought back to the day he told his family and how they were very encouraging on this idea. They believed that it was time for him to make his own decisions about his life. Percy smiled as he quickly climbed up the stairs to the apartment that he lived in. It was near his parents' apartment, so he never really needed to worry about anything big. He could always turn to them in times of need.

He decided to start packing up. He would be heading to camp in a few days so he should be ready- just in case he wanted to leave early.

After he finished packing the essentials in his bag, he looked through his closet to decide what to wear for the important night. He had already decided on how he was going to do it, now he just needed the courage to do it.

He was certain that she would wear something amazing, she always did. It was something that made his world stop.

He exhaled nervously and started rummaging through his pocket until he got out his phone. He knew that phones were dangerous to demigods but he was able to get a special one from Camp Half-Blood. It allowed demigods to call people like a phone but it didn't send out the basic message to monsters saying _Pick me now! I want to die! _

He chuckled at the ingenious device and threw it up and down a couple of times before finding his stepdad's cell number.

He dialed up Paul's number and they arranged for a quick meeting at the nearest café for a quick little chat.

He wasn't sure how to ask the crucial question that would change his life eternally.

The only person he knew with that kind of experience was his stepdad.

They both met up at their favorite café in about 10 minutes. After having some small talk, Percy asked Paul how he asked his mom.

All Paul said was, "Make sure that she's happy. That's all it really takes. Because when you see her laughing, you won't be nervous. And that's how you'll know that she's the one for you."

Percy smiled, nodded and told his stepfather that he'd see him later. He had some things to prepare for that night.

After calling in an old friend for a bit of help and setting everything, Percy noticed that it was already time for the date and went to go pick up Annabeth.

He knocked on her apartment door and there she was, as beautiful as ever. Percy gave her the bouquet of red roses and took her hand to the limo waiting outside. He told the limo driver- his "old friend"- to go to the location. After what seemed like no time at all- because it was- Percy took Annabeth by the hand and they entered a restaurant that looked out on the Eiffel Tower and the rest of the Parisian skyline.

Annabeth looked kind of surprised but seemed to be glowing to be back in Paris again after a few years. They both ate their dinner pretty quietly and ate the best dessert the both of them had ever had. When they were done, before leaving the restaurant, Percy took Annabeth up to the roof of the restaurant where he would ask her.

He took a deep breath and walked to the middle of the balcony on the roof. He got down on one knee while holding her hand, looked up at her and said the words "Will you marry me?"

* * *

**Author's Note: I wrote this two years ago for a school project and am posting this before I lose the guts for it. Let me know what you think! I have the entire thing written, but I want to know how many people are interested. So please, read and review!**

**And for those of you kinda confused, ****each part of the story is meant ot take place in their own time periods. That means Percy and Annabeth's part is present-day, after BoO and Katniss and Peeta's part is post-Mockingjay, pre-epilogue. Hope that helps and happy holidays!**


	2. Chapter 1

**So I'll be alternating POVs, first starting with Katniss and Peeta's daughter. Her name is Rosella, and read more to find out!**

~*~Rosella~*~

There were so many things in her life that made her who she was today. On the short walk from home to school, walking with her little brother, she thought of all of the moments in her life that made her smile. She thought back to when Alex was born, when she first met her best friend, her birthday parties, her first day of school, and so many more recollections jumbled around in her head.

But the one thing that stuck out in her mind the most was that one day that she actually found a guy, well… _cute_.

She was like any other teenager, but she never tried acting like one. She thought that she was more like her mom than anyone. She had been the same way when she was that age. But she had a different reason.

_Not something that she would actually bring up in front of me, though,_ she thought still reminiscing.

"Look out!" a familiar voice screamed at her.

She looked up a little too late and slipped on the crack in the sidewalk in front of the school. She groaned in pain as she rubbed her forehead and side thinking that they might have become bruised.

She heard a little giggle but still saw the small hand reach out for her. She grabbed it and said thanks to Alex.

"Are you okay?" he asked still laughing a little.

"Fine, just fine. Just… thinking." She looked down at her brother. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she said suspiciously.

"Nothing," he said, stifling a laugh, but he it was obvious that he couldn't hold it in any longer as his face was red from the pressure. But he ended up bursting out laughing. He was laughing so hard that she thought that there was something wrong with him.

_No_, she thought, this is normal. _Just when I thought that he was becoming a sane person, he acts up again._ She sighed heavily.

"Okay, what is it this time?"

"Your…face…was…hilarious!" he said in between laughs. He choked on the last few words that made her start laughing, too.

Shaking her head at her brother's stupidity, she checked her watch with the little gold swivels around the dial. "Oh, man! We'd better hurry up and get inside or we'll be late for homeroom!" she said tugging on her brother's hand.

She quickly dropped him off in his class, said goodbye, and hurried over to her class. She got there just in time as the bell rang for homeroom.

The rest of her day was uneventful, but that was nothing new. She liked to keep to herself and only talked when she wanted to. Then, at the end of math class, everybody darted out of the room from hunger. She, of course, walked with her friends talking about how the teachers were acting a little weird as if they were hiding something.

On their way down to the cafeteria, everything happened like it always did. They all got their lunch, which was probably going to be horrible, and made their way to their usual table.

"Hey, Rosella!" someone screamed from behind them. She turned around to see Amanda Wilson running up to her with a sheet of paper in her hand. She looked exhausted from running so Rosella just did her a favor and took the paper to see what was so important about it.

"Ha! Don't you know? Everyone calls her 'Rose' not by her full name!" her best friend Lucy James told Amanda.

"It's all right, Lucy. I don't mind." Rose mumbled, still intrigued by the paper. She looked up at Amanda.

"Why are you giving me this?" she wondered aloud, hoping that none of her friends saw what the paper said.

"Are you kidding me?! You'd be perfect for this. Everyone knows that," she said flabbergasted. Her voice changed into a pleading, almost begging sound, and then, she started holding her hands as if in a prayer.

"Please? You'd be incredible. And, besides, we need someone good. I don't think anyone actually has any _talent_," she said, winking at her. "Get it? Talent? It's a talent show! Gosh, I crack myself up," she stated while wiping away a fake tear.

Rosella couldn't decide so she just said, "I'll think about it. But that's not a promise!"

"That's good enough for me." Amanda shrugged and walked off back to her lunch.

"Talent show, huh? Are you actually going to do it? 'Cause if you do, _someone_ will notice you." Lucy said as she nudged her friend's shoulder.

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it." Rosella said that to end the conversation but she silently made a mental note to herself to ask her mom for some advice.

At the end of the day, as always, Rose found her brother getting out of his class waving good-bye to his teacher. Rose smiled thinking that he was just as friendly as their father and was like him in every other way, too. From his blond curls to his sweet personality that made everyone want to smile just being with him. All he had were Mom's gray eyes.

They went through their usual routine as every other day. They went to the library to see if they wanted anything, then walked down to their father's bakery.

At the bakery, it seemed like any other day- packed. Everyone seemed to love the cakes that Dad made. For any and every occasion, Dad would make any type of cake that anyone wanted. And after school, Rose and Alex were always willing to help.

It smelled sweet and fresh, cinnamon-y and sugary, anything that someone could expect in a bakery. To make it better, there was also ice cream, candies, pastries, and any other type of dessert that a person could ask for. It seemed like one of the places that a kid could get lost in, sweet heaven!

Rose and Alex went behind the counter to get their aprons on when their father saw them and grinned.

"Ready to help, guys?" their father asked, already knowing the repetitive answer.

"Any day, Dad! Bring it on!" Alex said!

Rose smiled, thinking that only her brother could do something like that to make her smile.

They quickly got to work and anytime that they got a break in between customers, they took a quick break to snack on something.

By about 7:30 later that evening, they seemed to be finally done with all of their customers and were exhausted. They were open for another half hour, but as no one was coming, they "closed" early or just took a break and did nothing for the time.

Dad went into the back room to grab something, so Rosella went to help him. Dad opened the fridge and took out a magnificent piece of art work, which was edible, obviously.

"For Mom, yeah?" she asked him, quietly. It appeared appropriate to whisper in the presence of something so glorious.

He nodded. "When you and Alex were making those personalized cakes the other day, it became this. All I did was put it together. So really, you two made the cake all by yourself."

Rosella noticed that he was referring to the conversation the two of them had in the morning. She wanted to know when they would be able to make something on her own like her dad. All he said was "soon enough" and gave her a mischievous grin.

"You're kidding, right? We couldn't have made this for the anniversary," she told him. That was when she saw the little designs that she put on her cake and the ninjas on her brother's.

"Come on. Help me box and take it out, huh?" he said while taking the cake out.

She nodded silently and grabbed the box to pack it in. When they finally got it out of the back, they saw Alex pumping his fists. He stopped when he saw them and ran over to see what they were holding.

"Ah. I know what this is for!" Alex said excitedly. "Now, we just need to get this home without Mom noticing it. Do you think she's waiting for us?"

Rosella and Dad just shrugged and saw that everyone else had left. They looked at the clock and it read **8:13**.

"Come on, let's get this home for tomorrow." Dad said.

The two children grabbed all of their things while their father closed shop. They took the sleek black car in the empty parking lot after they packed everything up. The drive didn't seem very long and were relieved when they saw that the lights were off inside the house. They quietly snatched everything that they needed with Dad carrying the cake. They entered and turned on the lights and settled down while Dad quickly stashed the cake in the second fridge in the garage.

He came back into the house and asked, "Have you seen Mom yet?" When they both shook their heads without looking up from their homework, he said, "Okay, I'll be right back. Stay inside and don't open the door to anyone."

The young kids knew not to mess with their dad when he was that serious. They had always been taught to be careful wherever they happened to be. If they were alone or with their parents, be on the lookout for trouble, because there probably would be somewhere around the corner.

It was how they were raised, to always be able to defend themselves. Their parents had taught them ever since they were young how to do many different things. They were able to hunt, swim, climb, ride horses, use a knife and a gun, and as well as martial arts. They knew they weren't allowed to use it anyone or anything, not unless there was real trouble.

When Dad had left the house, there was a tense air above the two siblings. They looked at each other and nodded. They went to go get their weapons, in case Mom and Dad didn't come back in at least 10 minutes. Any longer after that, they would go out themselves to look. That had been a silent agreement between all four Mellarks in the households.

They had set a timer after Dad had left on all of their devices that could be remotely turned off on either Rosella or Alexander's iPhones. They tried as hard as they could to do their work, but they were just too worried. This had become normal routine for them, but this issue always worried them.

Just before the timer hit the 10 minute mark, the lock for the main door made a sound and the door opened up. In the doorway were Mom and Dad laughing. They saw their children's faces that looked shocked at them. Mom ran over to them, knelt down to them, and hugged them close.

"Are you two okay?" she asked, very worried about them.

"Yeah, we're fine, Mom. Where were you?" Alex said.

"Oh, I was just in town checking to make sure that everyone was fine and prepared for the storm that's supposed to hit tonight."

They both nodded while their father went to the fridge to get something for dinner.

"Hey, Mom. I need your help on a project. Do you think you can or should I ask Dad?" Rosella asked, a little hesitant on what she was about to do.

"Of course, what is it?"

She took a deep breath. "I have to interview you and Dad about The Hunger Games."

* * *

**A/N: So I want to thank everybody that's read this so far! And to the one person who has reviewed and to the one who has favorited and followed: thank you so much! It means a lot to me! :D This goes out to you PrincessKatniss02 and Surkrem. And of course, ImaginativeGirl1 who was he first person to read this and was my own beta. Please read and review, and until next time! :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**And here we go with the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who's read so far! :D**

~*~Nicholas~*~

It seemed like the problems never ended. He quickly ran out of his house and just tried as hard as he could to could to calm himself down. He knew what happened if he got too mad, he could blow up, quite literally.

He heard the loud voices coming from inside. He could pinpoint everyone's voices exactly, his mother, father, and his grandfather. He let out his breath not realizing that he was holding it in the first place.

He was the reason of the fight. Gramps had allowed him to go and stargaze with him, but it seemed his parents had other ideas.

"You know he can't come with you! That's why he can't go anywhere!" he heard his father scream.

"I'll be with him, he'll be safe. You both know he will, so why don't you let him?" It was obvious to hear the anger and outrage in his grandpa's voice, although he could also hear the pleading in his voice.

He wanted to just go in and stop all of the yelling and fighting, but if he did go in, they would probably start yelling at _him_.

Instead, he just went up to his little tree house he built with his dad when he was four. He sat down at the entrance and just laid down and looked out at the stars. He just stayed there, remembering all of the good times in his tree house.

He did think that he was getting a little old for it, but it was his little "hideout" place, after all. He didn't mind staring at the stars, passing time rather than listening to the fighting inside. He tried looking for all of the constellations that he was taught when he was younger by his Dad and Gramps, then just decided on looking for his favorites.

Stargazing was their thing, before all of the little…problems erupted. He didn't understand half of them, but he knew most of them had to do with him. He knew just the thing to calm him down- thinking about everything that was said to be "impossible".

He sighed deeply, wishing that he could just go back to his childhood days when his family didn't mind him doing whatever he wanted and he was just free.

He glanced down at his watch, but looking at the time, he didn't seem intent on moving and hearing the fight again.

After a while, he couldn't take the silence any longer. Nick pushed himself up ready to get moving back to the house. He knew that even if they weren't done bickering, he was going to stop them. He climbed down the ladder, and began the walk to home, but he still wasn't ready to move.

He took a deep breath and decided to just get it over with. He looked up at the stars one last time and smiled thinking that everything would work out.

He walked into his house and was taken back. It was quiet, quieter than it normally should be there. Something he hadn't experienced in a long time, only when everyone is asleep.

"Is everything all right?" Nick asked his mom, who was sipping a warm cup of coffee at the dinner table.

She smiled, in what seemed sort of like a forced smile at the moment. "Of course it is, honey. Why wouldn't it be?"

He decided not to answer that question and just went over to the fridge to get a late night snack. He peeked his head over to the living room and saw his sisters working on their laptops, his grandfather was writing and his dad was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Dad?" he asked, to no one in particular.

"Right here," his dad replied, coming down the stairs with an envelope in his hand. "Need anything?" he asked, as he came into the kitchen.

He silently shook his head, shut the refrigerator door and took a banana from the fruit bowl instead.

"Tell you what, how about you take a walk with me?" Nick looked into his father's eyes and knew that something must be up. They rarely ever did anything together outside of the house at night anymore, not unless it was something particularly important.

"All right, let's go," Nicholas told his dad and went over to get his coat from the hall closet.

When he got back to the dining room, he heard the end of his parents' conversation. "…it'll be all right, don't worry."

He sighed, knowing that they were talking about him again.

Dad turned around and smiled at him. "Come on, let's get going, sport."

_Okay, maybe it's not so bad_, Nick thought, smiling and left the house after his dad.

They walked down the sidewalk and into the street where they saw most of the shops closing up for the night. Nick saw a family walk out of the bakery, the father had a box in his arms and the children had their bags over their shoulders.

He smiled thinking about the girl. She was about his age and was in his grade in school.

He looked up, expecting his father's face, but instead, he saw nothing. He tried to keep himself calm, knowing that Dad would be around there somewhere. He looked around frantically, only to see his father walk out of the post office. With a few cookies in his hand, it seemed like.

"Want one?" Dad asked him, taking a bite out of one.

Nick took one, grateful that his father hadn't seen his face. He must have been thinking about that girl for a while. Long enough, apparently, that his father was able to slip away and get his work done.

"So, what's her name?" Dad asked, trying to sound casual, while holding out the cookies once more.

Nick blushed furiously while grabbing a cookie. "Don't know yet. Haven't had the courage to find out."

His father smiled. "Women. Seems like life's greatest mystery. Come, let's take a walk."

Nick followed him down the streets and waved to the last people closing their shops. He felt something cold hit his nose and looked up.

"First snow of the season?" he asked, captivated by the beauty of the snowflakes falling.

His father chuckled, also appearing mesmerized. "Beautiful!" The one word was enough to capture everyone's thoughts.

Other people also saw the snow and began to exit their houses to be a part of the beautiful sight. Some of the children began spinning around in the soft snow. Others began to catch the little snowflakes on their tongue. Nick tried to do the same thing and flinched at the cool touch on the tip of his tongue.

"So, where are we headed?" he asked his dad.

"I was thinking about the little hill to do some stargazing. Fine with you?"

Nick grinned widely at his father. "I'll race you there! Tag! You're it!"

He got a head start with his father still stunned. "Gotcha!" was all the young boy said to his father, standing triumphantly at the top of the hill. His father exaggerated the last few steps and raised his hands in mock surrender. He laid down a blanket at the top and gestured to Nick.

They both laid down, hands behind their heads, watching the snow fall underneath the bright moon and the glistening stars. Occasionally, they pointed out constellations or told the other about the stories about the heroes shown in the sky.

"All right, Dad. What's the real reason that we're here?" When his father didn't answer, he pressed on. "Come on, Dad. There's a real reason that you and Mom wouldn't let me go with Gramps. Wherever he was going to take me, anyways."

Dad sighed deeply. "You heard that, huh?" He looked over at his son's face and saw the innocence in his eyes.

"Well, Nicholas. I'm pretty sure by now that you know that we aren't like everyone else. Our family has always been special. I bet you found that out on your own." He turned back up to the stars and paused for what seemed like eternity.

"Sport, there are some things that you should now about us. All of us."

"Dad, you aren't making any sense. You know that?" Nick was hoping that his father would just laugh and stop being so solemn, but then his father turned to face him- very seriously.

"Nick." He looked very impatient then took a deep breath and said, "How about I just start from the beginning. I bet that would help." He saw his son nod and turned back up to the stars.

"At first, I thought it was just a story myself. But then. Well, I saw some things that didn't seem true. And the only thing that helped me believe them were some stories that your grandfather told me when I was little."

Nick still had no idea what Dad was talking about. So instead of asking questions, he just waited a while longer to see if his father's story would begin to make sense.

Dad stopped for a while to see how Nick was following through with him. At his clueless face, he began on a different track.

"Sport, do you remember those bedtime stories that Mom and I used to tell you when you were little?" He seemed like he was about to break some hard news and had a very grave face.

Nick tried to think back to all those years ago when Mom and Dad told him about those brave heroes who saved the world. "I think so. The Greek myths, yeah?"

His father nodded. "Those are real, not myths. Son, we are demigods, too."

* * *

**A/N: Once again I want to thank all of you who have read this. And of course, my personal beta ImaginativeGirl1. Don't forget, please review after reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Thanks to the ones who have been reading! Would love to know your thoughts on this, so please review when you get the chance! Back to the story, and remember: I don't own any of the original characters or the story lines, just this plot and these new characters. :D**

~*~Rosella~*~

When she asked the question for her project, she hadn't exactly planned out what the reaction would be. She had thought that they would've been mad, considering what they've been taught about in school.

She had kind of been expecting someone to get so mad that they would go talk to the teacher and revise the project to something a little more… well, appropriate.

The whole idea of these "Hunger Games" seemed like a pointless and a cruel punishment by the Old Capitol.

What kind of government had their citizens come and kill each other each year? Just to remind them that they were under the _mercy_ of the government. That the Capitol was actually a forgiving body and this was their way of cruel entertainment.

Rose had the most disgusting visions in her head on what people must have done back then. They had learned some things in class so far, just the basics.

They had watched a video, something apparently shown every year to the citizens of Panem, to remind them of why they had the Hunger Games. And then, the teacher just went on and on about all of the terrible things.

She thought she was going to be sick, but it was good information for her, so she would know what she was doing.

She couldn't believe how each year 24 kids, split equally between the two genders had to kill each other so that only one could come out as the "victor" and be showered with the Capitol's "generosity".

She didn't believe a word of it and when the project was assigned, she deemed it was up to her and her friends to find out the truth about these "Games". And so far, she didn't like how it was turning out. She expected her parents to kind of rebel against it somehow, even though it was long gone.

But instead, her dad got the food out of the fridge and was just standing near the counters, hands holding the edges, knuckles turning white. She hoped that she didn't trigger an episode from him.

She turned to her mom, seeing her stiffen a little. She told Alex to take his stuff upstairs and do his work in his room for a while, probably not wanting him to hear the horrors at such a young age.

Her brother looked a little scared. So, he got all of his stuff and went up the steps, slowly, hoping to prolong the wait and maybe hear snippets of the conversation.

Rosella stood alone in the middle of the room, and frankly, she didn't like it at all. Her mother was sitting in front of her on the couch and her father was still standing in the kitchen.

"Mom? Dad? Are you okay?" she asked, very concerned at the reaction.

Her father nodded, while her mother was just muttering, "Not now. Why now?"

"What's wrong?" She was now truly scared of this response and was hoping for more.

She watched her father come over to them and sit next to Mom. "It's all right, Katniss. They had to find out soon." Dad turned to her and said, "Sweetie, you're gonna want to take a seat. This is a long story."

Rose was really scared now. She didn't think she ever saw her parents looked so determined and confident for something like this.

She slowly walked over to the nearest couch and gently took a seat on the edge as if it was going to explode.

Mom smiled. "It's all right, sweetheart. We're just going to talk. No need to be afraid."

At that, she relaxed a little, still not sure what was going to happen. She rearranged herself and sank slightly deeper into the couch, hoping that it would consume all of her fears.

Rose thought that she was going to be sick. Her parents explained more about the Games than it could ever be explained in school.

Her parents had actually been in the arena together. Forced to kill each other. Twice. And had still managed to stay alive and with each other.

She groaned inwardly. She had no idea how they could be so perfect for each other. They had still managed to defy all odds and continuously fought back against anyone and everyone.

She only wished that she could be that strong. So as she walked down the street, she could only wonder if she could be as passionate as her parents in fighting for a cause.

The Games were wrong and they both stood with each other, no matter what the situation called for.

She hugged her small, but tall figure closer to fight off the strong wind. The small, quick breeze blew her open hair in front of her face and her headband didn't keep all of it back as she hoped. And just as it came, it left. It was still snowing, it was slow, then for a bit went a little faster, then slowed again.

She noted that it was getting a little late, but she knew that her parents wouldn't come after her- for a while, at least. _At least it looks a little pretty out here, the snow on the trees and little icicles on the edges, _she thought, and then went back to her original thought process.

She kicked the accumulating snow in front of her. _How could people watch those Games for fun and not do anything about it?_ Rosella couldn't believe how some people could be so senseless and not think about things.

She was so mad at everyone for no apparent reason that she didn't notice the person walking right towards her. Until it was too late.

She crashed into the boy and they both fell in the snow with her on top. She was so embarrassed at how she could walk without looking. She picked herself up and offered the boy a hand. He took it and started wiping his pants clean of the snow.

Rose stared at the boy, thinking that he looked familiar. Until it clicked. This was the same boy that she might have… feelings for. She shuddered at the thought of how she could like someone with a disaster in her mind taking place.

He saw her trembling body and stepped a little closer. Noticing this, she stepped back automatically.

He put his hand out, clearly trying to calm her down. "Hi, I'm Nick." Expecting her to reply, he was a little shocked to see how she just glared at him and walked off.

She was still having her internal battle that she didn't want to talk to anyone, even if that included Nick. She figured that she was just letting her emotions take over her as they usually do.

She knew she shouldn't and that she should at least try to talk to the boy. After all, she _was_ the one who walked into him. She sighed and turned around, almost crashing into the young man again.

She giggled slightly as he. "Let's start over, shall we?" He nodded. "My name is Rose."

"And I'm still Nick." He grinned widely and she knew she couldn't stay mad at him.

"So, Rose. Why are you out alone on a night like this? Taking advantage of it being break, eh?"

She smirked at him. "Why, is that what you're doing?"

He put up his hands. "Okay, you got me. Guilty as charged." Rose chuckled slightly at the boy. "No, really. Why are you here?"

Her smile faltered a bit and she motioned her head ahead of them so they could continue walking. She knew she shouldn't reveal much so she decided to keep it simple. "I just found out some disturbing details about my parents' childhood. I couldn't exactly stand it, so I thought it would be best to take a little walk to clear my mind. I tend to get a little… agitated and get mad pretty easily. You probably realized that by now on your own."

He shrugged at her and just said, "Don't worry, I'm used to that and I don't really mind your temper levels."

Rose was taken back. Usually when she told people stuff like that, they would be worried about her and trying to take care of her. But evidently, Nick wasn't people and he didn't want to tell Rosella what to do with her life. _Just how I like it,_ she thought, smiling at him.

"All right. You know why I'm here. What's your story, then?" she asked him, now becoming a little suspicious at how he just materialize in the same area where she was walking.

He didn't answer at first, which made little alarms go off in her head at how she shouldn't trust him. She quickly went through everything that he said to her, making her mind go to its top speed and overload to see whether or not he was safe or not. After a few quick inspections in her little mind computer, things she had practice doing with anyone or anything, she deemed that he was safe. Which only led to one explanation to his delay- he had problems to deal with just like her, but wasn't able to open up in front of anyone.

After what seemed like hours to Rose once she left her safe place in her mind, Nick finally spoke up again. He cleared his throat, but his voice seemed a little wobbly.

"I… I also found something about my family. My dad just explained my whole ancestor's lifetime in, like, a half hour. I thought I should walk home on my own rather than with him, just to think, you know." He still looked a little shaken, but Rose could tell that he was trying as hard as he could to stay calm.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure it all work out," she said to him, as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Here's an idea. You can come home with me instead of going home until you're ready to leave?" Not waiting for the reply, she took his arm and dragged him to her home.

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A/N: Don't forget to read and review! Thanks to my personal beta ImaginativeGirl1 and all you who have reviewed!


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry for those who have been waiting, just never get a chance to log in and hit post the chapter. Thanks to the those who have been reading! Would love to know your thoughts on this, so please review when you get the chance! I don't own any of the original characters or the story lines, just this plot and these new characters. :D**

~*~Nicholas~*~

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. At first, Nick just thought that his dad was joking with him, but as he continued the history of their lives and their ancestor's, he could tell that he was serious and all of it was true.

Nick just didn't want it to be real. No matter how cool it may seem, there would always be something that would make him regret it. So, it'd just be best if he didn't believe it.

He questioned his father, trying to find out more about all of this… nonsense.

And then, his father said something that stopped him in his tracks. Dad started talking about… a curse, in his generation.

For no apparent reason, Nick just knew that it was about him. Although, his dad send in his generation and that could be his sisters, he knew it wasn't. It was an instinct that he had, he knew when there would be trouble- and boy, was his mind going crazy on the trouble spectrum.

"It's me, isn't it? I'm the curse." His dad looked like he was going to deny it, just for his sake, maybe. But Nick stopped him. "Dad. You know it's me, don't try to make me feel better."

He knew that he shouldn't feel mad about it, but for some reason, he felt unusually angry. It wasn't like him and he knew that he should at least give his dad a chance to explain the whole thing. But, for some reason, Nick thought his Dad had said enough to him about his life.

"Nick," his dad started off slowly, trying to calm him down and just in case he would explode from the emotions. "Son, I know you feel horrible, but just hear me out on this, okay?"

Nick took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts. He gave his dad a long stare and said, "All right, let me hear it."

His dad gave him a strange look, not knowing how to deal with his son in this mood.

"Are you sure about this?" His son nodded, giving him the conformation. He didn't want to do this, but he knew he had to tell him sooner or later.

He took a deep breath and started the other long story of his. "Nick, when you were born, something… well, different happened."

"And what would that be?" Nick said icily, staring up at the stars rather than his dad.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" Nick just stared up as his response. His dad sighed and continued. "You were visited."

At that, Nick turned around to face his father. "Visited? By whom?"

His dad smiled a little. "By your great-great-great grandparents."

"Whoa, hold up. Do you mean by the… Greek Gods?" Nick's mind still wasn't grasping the idea of being demigods, no matter how many times he had his dad repeat it for him. "Do Audrey and Alyssa know about all this stuff or are you just telling me this?"

"No, they know. Your mother and I told them when they were about your age, too."

Nick shook his head furiously. "Dad, that couldn't have happened. Why me?"

"Son, I told you already. You're special. But when you were born, you got the genes of the demigods from both sides of the family. Actually, your sisters did, too, but it's stronger in yours. That's what also gave you the 'curse'".

"So, it's not exactly a curse. You're just calling it that because it's that unfortunate."

"That's right, son. Your mother was born into the demigod family as well as I did. That means that you kids have a lot of power inside of you, you combine both lines of demigod-ness."

Nick smiled at the made up word, something only his dad would do. "Does this have anything to do with the necklace that I have?"

His dad paused, thinking of how to answer. "Do you have it with you right now?" Nick took it out from underneath his shirt to show Dad. His dad nodded in approval. "Yes, it does."

_Does this mean that I was carrying my 'curse' with me this whole time?_ Nick was pretty frustrated at how many questions that he had that continuously emerged once something new was revealed.

"No, I'm just joking, Nick. It has nothing to do with it, it was just a gift from your grandfather as a protection." Dad was laughing and Nick probably would've, too, if he wasn't so mad about what was going on.

"You see, Nick, as you had more power in your blood than anyone else in the family, you have the blood of an actual demigod. That's how powerful you ended up being, a full demigod."

"So, what's that supposed to mean? Am I going to hurt someone from this power?"

"No, son. Actually, the only one who can be potentially hurt…is you." Nick's dad turned to face him to see his reaction, but Nick was still expressionless.

"You know that scar on your shoulder?" Nick nodded, wanting his father to go on without joking and freaking him out again.

"That's your curse. Anytime that it starts burning up, it means that there's trouble near you. And if it overheats for longer than 5 minutes, you can die from the severe exposure of power."

As the girl tugged on his arm toward her house, Nick was still thinking through everything that his father said to him.

He was still angry at his family for not telling him, but then he was kind of glad because he didn't think he would be able to live with that trouble from a young age.

And he was kind of fortunate. After all, now he knew how complicated it must have felt to have been a demigod in the past. He had the same type of power as them, so they probably went through worse things than him.

He also was on his way to meet this girl's parents, so he was certain that if he didn't cool off soon, he was going to erupt- in front of some other family, not even his.

She was sweet and everything- it seemed that she had some problems going on too. She did say that she found some pretty distressing news about her family, too. But Nick knew it was too much to hope for another demigod in the same district as him. He doubted that there were any left.

They approached the house in a short time, maybe only because Nick was thinking the whole time, not noticing where he was going.

Rose fished around in her pocket for a key and seemed to glow when it emerged. _As if by magic,_ Nick thought, chuckling. She put the key into the knob, twisted it and pushed the door open. "I'm home!" she yelled.

A man with messy blond hair, startling blue eyes and muscular looked over from the kitchen. "Hey, sweetheart. That didn't take as long as I thought it would," he said, checking his watch.

She turned to face the clock and appeared pretty shocked to see the time. She shrugged and faced the man, who he thought was most probably her father. "Where's Mom and Alex?"

"Alex is in the library, trying to do his homework and Mom went upstairs to take a shower. Who's your friend?" he asked, nodding at Nick.

"Oh, sorry, sir. I'm Nick, sir, Nicholas Jackson," he stated, putting his hand out as politely and formally as he could without showing his emotions.

"Ah, so you're Andrew's boy. And, no, please don't do that. Don't call me 'sir', it…it's not one of the friendliest terms in my book," her father told him while shaking his hand.

"Um…yeah, I am." Nick said, unsure of what to say to that. He was feeling a little uncomfortable to be in someone else's house without his parents there, so he tried to make a quick escape.

"Uh, sorry to disturb you, Mr. Mellark. I didn't mean to intrude, but, uh, I think I should get home before it gets too late. So, uh, thank you, but… good-bye." He didn't want to leave, but he knew it would be best.

"Nonsense!" another voice came, this one sounded female. Nick looked up to see a woman with curly, brown hair and intense gray eyes who was trying to dry her wet hair with a towel.

She jumped the last two steps of the stairs and walked over to the rest of the group.

"Andrew wouldn't mind you staying for dinner. We can even call him to let him and Mary know that you're here. You up for it?" With her kind of attitude, Nick almost mistook her for a teen.

"Um…sure, I guess. Since it seems that you guys aren't going to let me go home so soon, I guess there's no problem," Nick was a little hesitant to stay over for long, but since Rose's parents seemed to be making a fuss, he knew that it would be rude to leave.

"Ah, that's what I like to here!" Mr. Mellark beamed and Nick automatically recognized him as Dad's oldest friend from school. _No wonder they seemed so pleased to see me here._

Rose walked over to another room on the floor while her parents went into the kitchen. Nick seemed a little awkward and out of place so he just decided to take a seat in the living room where the TV was on.

Rose came back soon with a little boy who seemed to be about the age of 10. He was about a foot shorter than her, but at that moment, he noticed that they were spitting images of their parents. He assumed that Rose got her temperament from one of them- something other than looks inherited.

"Nick, this is my little brother, Alexander," she introduced him, while pushing the boy forward. He glared at her, muttering something. Nick caught the words "not a baby" but nothing else.

He looked at Nick and smiled, with Nick grinning back at him. Even though, they may have been like 4-5 years apart, he thought that they could get along pretty well.

"Okay, my dweeb of a sister, _Rosella_," turning around to stick his tongue out at her which she returned, "likes to call me Alexander, but you can call me Alex. Or the dark ninja lord of all!" He seemed very excited so Nick thought it'd be best if he just went along with it.

He also wondered if he was anything like that in his childhood days and knew why parents thought kids were amazing- they could always make anyone smile.

"Anyone up for dinner?" came a voice from the general direction of the kitchen. Everyone giggled as the parents entered the room, bowing slightly. Nick wondered if this was what it was like in a normal family's home- loving and caring. Always making someone else laugh because it was a necessity.

He thought that it was what his family used to be like, but as Nick grew older, maybe the 'curse' thing was looming above them.

"Don't worry, Nick. I called your parents and they're fine with you staying over for dinner, just as long you call them regularly and not stay out to late," Mrs. Mellark informed him.

"Thank you," Nick said, nodding. He felt that he had become a part of this family, even though he had just met them probably an hour prior.

"Now, enough chitchat, I'm starving!" Alex said, making his way to the dining table.

The rest of them looked at each other, laughing at his innocence, then followed his example and went into the kitchen.

They all took a seat around the dining table when Mr. Mellark began a conversation with Nick. "You know, son, the best place that you should go at this age would probably be that old house on the edge of the district. There might be something interesting for you kids to discover."

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A/N: If you're down here, then I'm hoping you've read it all. But still please review! Thanks to my personal beta ImaginativeGirl1 and all you who have reviewed!


	6. Chapter 5

**I'm really sorry, I hate to be one of those people that don't update often, and here I am! I am just bombarded with school stuff, but thankfully, I am almost graduating, so I won't have to worry about some of these things. Thanks to everyone who has read so far, love to hear what you guys think! For what happens next, continue reading. And as always, I don't own any of the original characters that end up in my story.**

~*~Rosella~*~

She couldn't believe herself. She brought a stranger home, right after she met him. Just because he was kind of depressed and fighting his emotions at the same time and he registered safe on her mind alert, didn't mean that he was safe.

And yet she still broke every rule that she was taught- talking to strangers, bringing random people home- probably a _dozen_ rules were broken because of one boy.

But even though she did all of that, she somehow felt…safe, reassured, whatever the right word may be, that was her around this new boy off the street.

She was relieved, though, when her parents recognized him as a friend because of his parents. It was fine with Rose, just as long as she didn't have to do any explaining, she was okay with whatever happened.

Until her dad suggested that they visit an old house on the edge of the District-another thing that she wasn't allowed to do. Since her dad suggested it, she knew that it should be fine, as long as they make a quick stop at Nick's house.

He thought that it was only fair that since he met her family, she should meet his, too. She was a little nervous, meeting people that she had only heard about from some of the stories told by her parents.

Nick thanked her parents for the lovely dinner, told Alex that maybe they could play video games together and took off with Rose towards his house.

He told her that it wouldn't be long before they arrived at his place. After they stopped at his place, they would head over to the place that Dad had suggested, secretly wishing that he hadn't.

Apparently, that house was a legend. She had heard it quite a bit as a story from her parents, which was why she was so surprised that her dad had recommended it.

According to the old legend, if the right people showed up there together, an old secret would be revealed. No one actually knew who those two would be, but her father had thought it was them, so on they went to the eerie destination.

They arrived at Nick's house in a short time after they left. She was surprised that they lived so close to each other, but not once had spoken to each other.

Instead of going through the front door like people usually do, Nick took her around the house to the back door, where he just slid the back door open and gestured for her to go first.

"Are you sure about this? That we won't just be intruding in anything? That we'll be fine?" she asked him, seriously. She was really worried on what would happen, so she was trying to be extra precautious. And, of course, that didn't work at all.

Nick smiled at her, trying to be polite, even though she could tell what he was thinking about her- that she was crazy. "Of course it's fine. I do it all the time. Truth is, I never actually use the front door unless I have to. It gives the enemy the element of surprise."

"And I thought that you just met Alex today, you two could have been twins with the way your mind is going right now," she mused, as she went in through the door.

"Ah, that would be because we are too awesome for you to understand," he said, smiling.

He followed her in and shut the door after her. She took in her surroundings and saw that she was in the kitchen. It seemed a little too quiet for a house, as if it was abandoned.

"Where is everyone?" she asked him, getting a little worried.

"Here, follow me." He took her hand and led her to the living room. No one in there seemed to notice that they walked in. As if this was a normal day for them.

"So, where have you been this whole time?" the young lady closest to them said. Rose observed her from where she was sitting on the sofa and assumed that she was his sister. And she hadn't looked up once, as if she already knew who it was.

"Out," was all Nick said. He seemed a little touchy on the subject and stiffened a little at the mention of it.

"Well, obviously," said the other girl with a laptop on her lap. "She means where, smart one." It seemed evident that they were still like any other siblings, despite the tension in the air.

Rose thought that the two girls were probably twins. They had the same flowing, jet-black hair but when they both looked up, she could see the sea green eyes on the first girl and stormy gray on the other.

She looked up at Nick's eyes and studied him for the first time, and saw that he had a hazel shade of eyes unlike the girls and also sandy hair, closer to a dark blond.

He glared at the two girls ignoring their question and asked his own. "Where are Mom, Dad, and Gramps?"

The one with the laptop smiled and pointed to the stairs. Then said, "Hey, Nick, catch. We saved this for you."

She threw a bag of chips at him and he caught it perfectly. The other one smiled and said, "Two points, little bro."

He smiled and looked at Rose. "Guys, this is Rose Mellark. She lives, like, a few blocks down. Rose, these are my sisters, Alyssa and Audrey."

"Ah, I remember you. You were the little girl who at the playground decided that you would be the first one to try the big swings at the age of 2." The one with the green eyes- Alyssa- said.

Rose seemed a little shy at this reference. She hadn't thought of that day ever since it happened, but now that it had been said, it was clear in her mind.

"Well, you might want to get going. You're going to be late if you wait any longer," Audrey told the pair. They didn't ask her what she meant, so Nick led Rose to the stairs.

Rose didn't ask any questions, so she just followed Nick quietly up the steps to a balcony where she saw three adults standing there. Rose was a little uncomfortable standing there but Nick gestured for her to keep moving.

He whispered in her ear, "We'll make this as quick as possible so that we can see what you dad was talking about, alright?" She nodded and he said, "Come on, let's go."

He walked up to the three and gestured for her to stay back and said something to them. They all turned around and smiled at her. A woman who looked like the girls below came and hugged her and said, "You remind me of your mother when she was our age."

Rose smiled, assuming it was his mom and said, "Thank you. We should get going."

The elderly man, who was probably his grandfather, nodded and said, "The time is right."

Rose led the way, which was kind of strange, since she had no idea where she was headed. They were typically relying on their instincts on where they were headed, plus the extremely vague map the two had gotten from Nick's grandfather.

No one had actually been to this part of the district before, the last known people were from before the nation had been divided into districts- way too many generations ago.

Rose was a little frightened on how everyone just expected them to figure out what was supposed to happen. She had absolutely no idea what in the world was going on about this place. She had never even heard of that place before her father had mentioned it that night over dinner.

Nick was getting frustrated, though. It was apparent on his face on how he seemed ready to punch someone. He had entirely no idea where they were headed and their phones' GPSs didn't want to work either, evidently.

Nick stopped where he was just staring at his phone. Rose kept walking, considering which way would be best to go. She turned around to see if Nick was still following her and saw he wasn't there.

She freaked out, at first, but then saw him still standing where she had left him a few moments ago, fiddling crazily with his phone.

She walked back to him, sighing. When she reached him, he paid no attention to her, still grasped by the phone. A few seconds later, Nick exclaimed in excitement.

Rose almost jumped at the sudden interest. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

He was grinning at her like a kid at Christmas. "I just hacked into the system and got the GPS working! The place we have to go is just a few minutes away."

Now Rose was grinning with him. "Amazing! Now we aren't wandering around aimlessly. You are a genius!"

He smirked at her, "Well, I'm glad you think so. Shall we continue?"

She rolled her eyes, "Don't go getting a big ego. Come on, let's get this over with. I'm starting to hate this place."

Nick nodded in agreement and led the way this time. They continued walking for a few minutes, when they saw a something in the shape of a house.

They both knew this was a little peculiar, but the GPS was saying the house was in that direction. They held their breath for a few seconds and looked at each other. It was obvious in both of their eyes that neither one of them wanted to do this. Yet, they still continued on together.

As they got closer, they could see that this place wasn't a house like it was said in the legend. It was a _mansion_, so big that it seemed more like a palace in a fairytale.

Rose couldn't believe her eyes and ran the rest of the distance to get to the mansion.

It seemed that Nick had the same idea because he ran before Rose could even start. _There must be something special about this place if he's running, too, _she thought.

She made it to the house after him and was about to go inside of the abode when she saw Nick's face. She walked over next to him and saw a cemetery behind the mansion.

She was a little curious on why a family would have a graveyard as their backyard and saw the name on top of the gate. _Jackson_ was embellished above the entrance of the cemetery.

She gasped a little at the discovery and could only imagine how Nick was feeling. _So many new discoveries for him and probably not in the best way, either._

She put her arm on his shoulder, letting him know that they could talk about it. He nodded at her and simply said, "Let's find out what's going on."

She followed him back to where she first arrived when he said, "I have a weird feeling about this place."

She nodded, saying, "Me, too. It almost feels-"

He cut her off. "No, not in the eerie way. I mean that there's something different about this place in particular." He tapped his foot on the ground, implying what he was talking about.

"What do you mean? Do you want us to start digging up the ground?" she asked, clearly perplexed on what he was talking about.

"I mean, that I'm getting some weird feeling from underneath the ground. I think that the best way to find out what it is, would be to dig it up."

"You're kidding, right? What are we supposed to dig with?"

He pulled out a mini-trowel from his pocket, smiling at her. "With this."

She scoffed at him. "You seriously kept that with you this whole time?"

He shrugged at got to his knees. "You can never be too careful with anything. You should always be prepared. Boy scouts motto," he said, smiling proudly.

"All right, I'm going to see if I can find a shed with tools in them." She turned around and went to the side of the house and found what she was looking for.

She opened the shed finding various tools, picked a shovel that would work with her strength and size and walked back to where Nick was digging.

He got a fair amount through the earth- with the size of his trowel. She shook her head as she approached him and began digging next to him.

It was a little quiet, but it seemed like a comfortable silence. It seemed that not even bugs thought that this was the best place to be. The only sound was an occasional wince from Nick.

At first, she thought he was just having some trouble digging. But then, the wincing grew and Nick's face was contorted with pain.

Rose threw her shovel down and knelt next to Nick. He was holding his shoulder in pain and was on the verge of screaming out. She could tell that it was taking all of his willpower to do that and it wouldn't last much longer.

She reached out to check his shoulder and pushed his shirt down so she could see the shoulder he was holding. She could not have prepared herself for what was there. His shoulder had a trident-shaped scar that was glowing different colors, which she had no idea what it was.

She quickly looked around to see if there was any trouble and then bolted into the house. The first thing she saw was a bag full of small, gold cubes labeled _'ambrosia'_. She had no idea what it was, but she took it out to Nick, anyways.

Nick was still there on the floor, now yelling hysterically. She took out a square and shoved it in his mouth, which instantly relieved Nick and stopped his screaming.

"Well, that was one way of doing it," a mysterious voice said from behind them. "Now, move aside if you know what's good for you."

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**A/N: There should only be one chapter left, and I hope I will get that up soon! Please don't forget to review, I'm sure you've already done the reading to be down here! Thanks to my personal beta ImaginativeGirl1 and all you who have reviewed! **


	7. Chapter 6

**Here we are, at the end of this story. Sorry that it took me so long to actually get here, it shouldn't have, but I've been really busy. Now that school is finally over and I've graduated and everything, I can do this. It's been a lot of fun seeing your reviews and writing this like over two years ago. I can't believe we all are here. So, without further ado, here is the final chapter. **

~*~Nicholas~*~

For a second, he thought that he was going to die. Ever since he started digging, he knew that there was something different. He wasn't sure if it was just a weird sensation attracting him to the area in the ground or if it was the sort of 'trouble' his dad warned him about.

The pain just grew once he hacked at the solid earth underneath him but he knew that there was a reason for him to be there, so he tried not to think about it.

But instead of the pain decreasing, it seemed to increase at incredible speed. He was glad that someone was there with him; otherwise, he would have been dead meat for sure.

He had no idea what it was that she gave him, but whatever it was, it did the trick. He could feel the pain retracting at the taste of…whatever it was.

He looked up gratefully at her and before he could even utter the words 'Thank you' to her, someone beat him to speaking.

When he heard the voice, it chilled him to the bone. He thought that he recognized the voice, but he couldn't be sure.

He looked up at Rose, who was staring at him with a look of pure dread. When their eyes locked for a moment, they both turned to the man in a silent agreement.

When Nick saw him, he knew that he saw him before. He had a light, brown beard and his hair was graying at the edges. His snakelike eyes followed them both with such precision, Nick knew immediately that it wouldn't take long for the man to strike.

As soon as his mouth opened to speak, Nick was half expecting his mouth to foam at the edges.

"Did you really think that you were alone this whole time?" he snarled at them. "Your families have been meddlesome fools, too, so I knew I had to keep an eye on you two."

Nick glanced at Rose and caught her eye, knowing she was thinking of the same thing as him. That this man had either lost it or was the person who was in control of everything.

"Now, you have a choice. You can step away from the dig site and hand me the treasure or," he pulled out a gun, "I can shoot you both," speaking as calmly as he could.

Neither Nick nor Rose moved from where they were, Nick still half laying on the ground, Rose standing above him. At the sight of this, the man became enraged. "Fine. You leave me no choice. Nighty-night, children," The man smiled at them both as he shot them with his little gun.

It didn't take long after the bullet penetrated their skin that they both hit the ground hard, slowly losing consciousness.

He woke up with a throbbing headache, not having any idea of where he was or what just happened. He rubbed his head when it all came back to him. The house, the man, him shooting them.

He sat up so fast that he didn't even know what was happening. He looked around him and saw a pitch-black room. He felt around slowly, trying to find a wall with a switch.

He got up and put his hands out in front of him to stay clear of any obstacles. His hand hit a wall and he moved his hand all around the wall and hit something small and touched it.

The lights flooded on and he squinted his eyes and put a hand up, shading them. His eyes adjusted and he took in his surroundings.

It was a pretty plain room and he was alone, for now. He found a few couches and saw a window with the sun rising.

He couldn't believe it was already morning. When he was with that man, it was still dark out. He hoped that he hadn't been gone for too long, or else his parents would worry- a lot.

Thinking about that man, he couldn't help but notice that he knew him from somewhere before. But anytime that he thought about who he was for too long, it slipped away.

_Maybe it was something in that poison that erased my memory of him_, he thought. He began pacing the room in frustration and kicked the nearest couch.

A few moments later, the door opened. Nick watched as a two guards came out to escort him out. He followed them down the hallway and after many twists and turns through the maze of corridors, they all made it to what seemed to be the control center of the room.

At the same time that Nick entered the room, the other door at the far end of the room also opened revealing Rose. Acknowledging each other, they slowly nodded at each other, then walked to the middle of the room.

"I found something out," she said to him in a low whisper. He moved a little closer to her and leaned his head slightly, trying as hard as he could to not look suspicious.

"The man at the house is actually President Snow Jr. Apparently, his great-uncle was the one in charge a while back."

Nick nodded. "I thought he seemed familiar. I just couldn't place my finger on what it was."

At that moment, the door in front of them opened, exposing their kidnapper. At the sight of him, Nick wanted to fling something at him, and he could tell that Rose also did, but he was the only reason that they were probably alive. And if they were able to get some information out of him, then they would also know the quickest way home.

"So," he said, outstretching his arms as if expecting a hug, "welcome."

Rose scoffed at him. "Do you really expect us to believe that after you just tried to kill us, _you _are welcoming _us _into your headquarters or whatever this place is?"

He shrugged. "Well, I suppose we could do this the more formal way and get straight to the point." He looked at his captives and looked like he still wasn't pleased.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked. "What, do we look funny or something?"

"No, I was just expecting a response. It seems that this young man has no comments whatsoever to make about all of this and has left you to do all of the talking."

Indeed, Nick wasn't speaking, but only because he was developing a plan of escape.

"No matter, no matter. On with my brilliant plan. You two will retrieve the treasure that you found at the house over there. Then, you will help unlock it so that I may have it. It is as simple as that. And in exchange for the treasure, I shall grant you your freedom."

"That's it? You want us to get you that thing just so that we can leave here? Do you think that we're slow or something? You are a bad guy, you're probably going to back on your word and kill us or something if we hold up our side of the bargain," Nick said, obviously outraged by the man in front of him.

The man looked shocked at the lack of trust that Nick was giving him. "I would never do that. You do know that, don't you?

"Do you know how hypocritical you're sounding right now? When we first met a few hours ago, you were making fun of our families and poisoned us!" Rose exclaimed.

The president raised a finger, "Ah, my dear child. Two things to say to you. One: when we met, I wasn't feeling myself. I was a little...angry at what happened a little prior. Two: It wasn't a few hours ago." He smiled mischievously, "It has been about two days since you were knocked out. Truth be told, I didn't expect you to be out for so long. It did get a little boring waiting for you, but, no matter, you're here now."

Nick wasn't sure if he was imagining it or was this guy an absolute freak? He couldn't believe that this guy- who was meant to be the president- thought that all of this was supposed to be true. If he didn't want to be here, then he shouldn't have done any of it in the first place.

"So, do we have a deal?" The president looked back and forth between the two, waiting as patiently as he could for an answer.

After a few moments of silence, someone said, "Okay." Nick turned to the sound of the voice and was surprised to see it was Rose.

Nick was trying to look for an explanation on her face but was a little frightened to see it expressionless. "We'll do it. Won't we, Nick?" she asked, turning to him.

Not wanting to go against her, he agreed, but did make his own part of the deal. "We only do this if we leave and find whatever you want and you have to come get it. And you have to swear you'll let us go, without crossing your fingers or anything. Deal?"

He put his hands up in surrender. "You have my word. Nothing will go wrong, as long as you don't double-cross me, either," he said, narrowing his eyes.

They both nodded and walked out of the room. Nick leaned in to Rose and asked while whispering, "Why did you do that? I thought you hated him."

She glanced at him, then over her shoulder behind them, watching Snow Jr.'s eyes trailing them. "I don't, I just said that to get him to let us go." She held up a finger, motioning for them to slow down a little. "On the count of three, we attack the guards and get out of here."

He nodded while she started the countdown. "One…two…now!"

At that moment, they both struck out and hit the guard walking next to them. Nick took the arm of his guard and twisted it, kicking his elbow. The guard screamed out at the same time as the other guard.

He looked up to see the other collapse hard on the floor and saw her glaring at the now unconscious guard. He was sure glad to have her on his side, otherwise, he would have been dead at first meeting.

They each armed themselves with a gun from the guards and ran to the way that seemed like the exit.

"Not so fast," a voice above them boomed from what seemed like all around. "Did you really think that I would let you go that easily?"

They didn't know which direction the voice was specifically from, but they did know one thing- Snow never trusted them, and the feeling was mutual.

Nick tugged on Rose's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's not feeling right."

Rose nodded and led the way down the corridor. "I think we have to go this way, yeah?"

Nick shrugged, "I have absolutely no clue. I have no sense of direction in anything. I'll probably lead you around in circles."

Rose sighed, "Okay, then. I don't know about you, but I _need_ to get out of here. That man is giving me the creeps."

They persistently ran through the labyrinth of hallways, knowing that it was not just an option of theirs to get of the disturbing prison, but a necessity to be able to live without this memory.

After what seemed like forever, they stopped when they had a choice between two different hallways that had no end.

They looked at each other, neither of them having any idea of which way to go. _Right always seems the best way, but it _is_ a matter of life and death now, _Nick thought.

"Is your GPS tracker working on your phone? I think mine broke after we were poisoned that night," Nick told Rose.

She shook her head. "I think so too." She groaned out loud, "We're not getting anywhere fast, and its killing me!"

Nick nodded and then wondered if he was able to hack into the security system to find the way out. He was pretty good with that, after all.

"Give me a second, okay? I might have an idea of how to get out," he mused, walking to the fingerprint scanner in between the two doorways.

He took out his phone, turned it around and opened the back of it, revealing colorful wires intertwined with each other. Nick looked thoughtfully at the contraption, wondering how he would be able to get the two to connect and work.

Nick, still aware that Rose was watching him intently, but getting a little bored, gave her a running commentary of what he was doing. He was getting a little nervous about messing up, which made him talk even more and faster. He blushed self-consciously, not knowing the exact reason and hoping that she didn't notice.

Rose decided to take that moment to say, "I'm going to go check if there's any other way out of here. I'll be back soon."

He nodded and went back to work. It only took another few seconds for him to get the correct way out and also found a way to knock out the security cameras so that he was in control.

He was so excited that he even got into the camera for the president's room and got the visual on his phone. Now all he needed to do was find Rose so that they could get out of the confinement center.

He got up to search for her, but she wasn't anywhere in his line of vision. He looked around all of the corners and was about to start searching in the rooms when he got a text on his phone.

It read, _Couldn't find anything, coming back. –R.M._

He sighed in relief and saw her bounding from the corner, "Got it working?" she asked.

He nodded, "Come on, before Snow finds us." He showed her his discovery and handed her the phone as he went back to the fork in the hallway. "So, which way to go?"

Rose was staring at the phone, turning it around to match it up to where they were. "Okay, so, if we go this way, we can get straight outside through this way," she said, pointing to the right hallway.

He dipped his head a little, "After you, ma'am." He put his hand out and bowed.

She giggled and shook her head. Even in a crisis, he could still make her smile. "All right, Prince Charming, you're handsome. Let's get a move on."

He grinned as she went down the hallway with him running after her. She called the directions to turn down the passage that seemed like an underground tunnel.

His joy was immediately wiped and they both grew serious instantly. "That's strange," Rose remarked. "It says that the exit should be right here, but," she said, looking up, "there's nothing here."

"It must be a secret doorway or something," Nick stated as he started touching the brick wall, inspecting every crack. His hand hit something loose and as he jiggled the brick, the wall opened. "Got you," he mumbled to himself. "This way," he called to Rose.

She came from where she was searching over to Nick and inspected the narrow tunnel. She glanced at Nick, "Are you sure this is the way out? Could be a trap."

He shrugged, "You were the one who said that the way out was here and this is the only thing. What does it say on the map?"

"Nothing. That's just it. If this went out, that means there's something else here, too."

"I say we go for it. I think I'm going to be sick if I have to stay here any longer than I have to."

"Okay, then. Guess there's no other choice," she said, nodding. "Together?" she asked, outstretching her hand.

He nodded and met her hand. "Together." They both walked into the tunnel, ready to face what was on the other side.

They both didn't expect to see the blazing sun hit their faces at the end. They both instinctively shielded their eyes until they readjusted.

Nick was the first to put his hand down and blink out the rays. "I never thought that I would be this happy to see the sun in the middle of winter!" he exclaimed happily.

Both excitedly ran out of the doorway, letting go of each other. Remembering his parents, his enthusiasm deflated like a popped balloon. "Rose," he said quietly. "What are you going to do about your family?"

Rose turned around slowly, her eagerness also gone. "I don't know. Don't worry," she told him, handing back his phone.

He closed his eyes as he took the phone, then turned back to face the mansion when it wasn't there. _It was all just an illusion, nothing happened._

He tripped over something small when he saw the label say 'Tracker jacker poison' on the front. Confused, he turned to Rose, just in time to see her body fall limp, with a knife in her back. He ran over to her but saw no sign of the assassin.

That was when sixteen year-old Percy Jackson woke up in cold-sweat from his dream.

* * *

**I hope that none of you hate me after this, because I kinda liked that ending. I tossed around the idea of continuing this, and I just don't see it happening. However, now that I do have like about 3 months of nothing to do, I could write another story, but only time will tell. I really liked writing that ending though. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, and please review on this as well, I'd love to see what you all think. And this is probably the last time I'll be saying this, but thanks to my personal beta ImaginativeGirl1!**


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